GORKHA TIMES PICTURES

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Kalimpong, 14 Nov : On the occasion of Children Day Hamro Bhavishya Bal Sanstha of 14th Mile, Echhey Busty, Kalimpong organised 83rd episode of monthly literary programme Basibiyalo. Tshering Bhutia, a young and energetic literature lover of the locality read out the code of conduct of the programme as usual and the new and old literary figures like Bishnu Bhujel, Samsher Ali, Jangey Tamang, Dr. Kamal Pokhrel, Gyan Sutar, Hira Chhetri, Capt (Retd) Bhumiraj Rai, Tulshi Ojha recited their creative poems and short stories. By presenting a self composed song about the beauty of Darjeeling Himalayan Railways, B.K. Shilal added the extra attraction to the programme. It was decided in the programme to organise the next 84th episode of the monthly programme on second saturday of December at Pudung Busty. In the programme Sahsher Ali, who also happens to be the chief co-ordinator of the monthly litarary programme, viewed that now this litarary programme should be organised at grass root level to make the shoolgoing children aware about their mother tongue, litarature and culture. Hira Chhetri distributed Nepali children magazines among the local students and requested them to contribute their articles in the magazine ‘Bal Bagaicha’ being published by the Khiroda Kharka Charitable Trust, Darjeeling in memory of late children literary figure Smt. Khiroda Kharka.

SILIGURI, 17 NOV(The Statesman): A non-GJMM political front is likely to emerge in the Darjeeling hills after the proposed 21 December tripartite talks, in Darjeeling. There are, however, differences among the possible front constituents about the inclusion of the GNLF in it. While the Communist Party Revolutionary Marxist leader, Mr R B Rai, favoured a broad-based political configuration involving the non-GJMM political forces including the GNLF, the All India Gorkha League leader, Mr Madan Tamang is against the incorporation of the GNLF.
These statements have assumed political significance in view of the GJMM threat to go all out if the 21 December parleys fail to yield result. The GJMM chief Mr Bimal Gurung has already made it clear that the GJMM would declare Gorkhaland on its own, and snap political and economic ties with West Bengal, if the talks fail.
According to Mr Rai, the whole concept is still mired in speculative murkiness. “We are not thinking of it right now. Let the three-way dialogue be over first. Then, depending on the developing situation, a broad-based political configuration might come into existence. All the non-GJMM parties might be involved in it,” he said. He, however, denied rumours of a meeting with the GNLF leader, Mr Subash Ghisingh, on the issue. “These reports are baseless,” he claimed.
Speaking on the possibility of a non-GJMM political front, the AIGL president, Mr Madan Tamang said that his party would not be involved in any front if it had the GNLF as its partner. “We might welcome a front sans the GNLF. Both the GJMM and the GNLF, as fascist forces, are two sides of the same coin. A non-GJMM and non GNLF political front is, however, possible,” Mr Tamang said.
However, welcoming such a suggestion, a Panighatta-based, GNLF leader, Mr Rajen Mukhia said that there were no permanent friends or foes in politics. “I, for one, am not in a position to tell anything definitively on this serious matter. Our leader, Mr Subash Ghising, would decide things at the right time. But I can say that politics, being regarded as an art of the possible, nothing is beyond the pale,” Mr Mukhia added.

Kalimpong, Nov. 17(Telegraph): Around 15,000 prospective Madhyamik and Higher Secondary candidates in the hills were for the first time given uniform questions for the selection examinations that began at 129 schools today.

In the past, the schools framed questions individually or requisitioned those set by the All Bengal Teachers’ Association for the selection examinations. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-affiliated Janmukti Secondary Teachers’ Organisation (JSTO), however, decided to do away with that practice from this year and introduced uniform question papers at all the schools in the hills.

The JSTO spokesman, Bhisan Roka, said the heads of the institutions wholeheartedly welcomed the new system when it had been first mooted in July. “Apart from making the examinations more competitive and thereby preparing the students in the hills to face the board examinations better, we are also trying to send a political message that we in the hills are equipped to take care of education on our own.”

“We selected two teachers from each subdivision for every subject to draft the questions. The six sets of question papers were then handed over to a moderator, who framed the final question paper for each subject,” said Roka.

Darjeeling, Nov 16(Telegraph): Bhutanese students across the Darjeeling hills have been caught in a crossfire between the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and police on wearing of their national dress.

The Morcha has asked all students and teachers to wear their traditional dresses for three days a week from October 26 till further notice.

Bhutan government officials, along with senior police officers of Bengal, have appealed to Bhutanese students to stop wearing their national dress, which incidentally is mandatory in their country, while attending colleges in the hills.

The Gorkha Janmukti Vidyarthi Morcha, the hill party’s student wing, however, described the appeal as a move to derail the agitation for Gorkhaland. “It is the conspiracy of K.L. Tamta (inspector-general of police, north Bengal) to derail the cultural movement by using the Bhutanese government. The conspiracy is being hatched to create problems before the next tripartite meeting,” said Keshav Raj Pokhrel, the general secretary of the Vidyarthi Morcha. Read the rest of this entry »

KURSEONG, 15 NOV(The Statesman): Chenam Lepcha (73), a farmer, was injured when a wild Himalayan bear attacked him near his residence this morning. A resident of Beechgaon-Sittong-1, he was working on his field when he was attacked. He suffered multiple injuries at his neck and head and was admitted to the Kurseong sub divisional hospital.
This is the third such attack in a month. One Raju Lepcha was mauled in the village in Sitong by a bear barely a week ago. In October, one Anita Gurung (36) and her son Diwas Gurung (10), residents of Labda Busty at Mongpoo were seriously injured by a wild Himalayan bear also at Mana near Sitong.
Den Tshering Lepcha, the gram panchayat member representing the area said they had informed the forest officials regarding such incidents but till date nothing has been done in that direction. “These attacks are becoming frequent,” he added.

KURSEONG, 15 NOV(The Statesman): Two senior leaders of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha left for Ranchi yesterday to campaign for the All Jharkhand Students’ Union Party in the state Assembly elections in Jharkhand slated on 25 November. The GJMM general secretary, Mr Roshan Giri and another leader, Mr Raju Pradhan would also participate in the birth anniversary programme of the Adivasi legend, Birsa Munda.
Informing this, the GJMM assistant secretary, Mr Binay Tamang said that they would campaign for the AJSUP at different places in the state. “Our support for the Adivasi cause in Jharkhand and the Dooars in the north Bengal region is well known. Both the Adivasi and the Gorkha community remain amongst the most exploited communities in the country even over sixty years after the independence. We regard it our duty to advocate for the development cause of the Jharkhand as well as for the repressed Dooars region in Jalpaiguri,” Mr Tamang added. He further said that the GJMM leaders would pay obeisance to the memory of the legendary Birsha Munda on his birth anniversary. “The Adivasi community in Jharkhand has invited us to attend the programme. We have great regards for Birsha Munda who had sacrificed his life on the altar of the Adivasi cause as well as the collective cause of the country,” he added.

Darjeeling, Nov. 15(The Telegraph): The Union commerce and industry ministry has decided to bring all exporters of organic products, including Darjeeling Tea, under a system that would help trace the origin of the produce.

After the launch of the system on January 17 at Biofach — the world’s largest trade fair for organic products in Luxemburg, Germany — the Agricultural and Processed Food and Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), a unit of the commerce ministry, will be in charge of the implementation.

SILIGURI, 12 NOV(The Statesman): Fearing bootlegging would be encouraged with the GJMM embargo on licensed liquor trade in the Darjeeling hills, the administration has decided to embark on an awareness campaign on the matter.
The inspector general of police, north Bengal, Mr KL Tamta today said that in keeping with the state chief secretary’s recent plea to the GJMM leadership to consider lifting the ban to restrain illicit liquor consumption, the administration would try to convince the common people of the health hazards involved in the matter.
“We would not go in for a confrontation with the political leadership in the hills, but would endeavour to keep the people away from consuming illicit liquor,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »

SILIGURI, 12 NOV(The Statesman): The Marxist-Leninist organisations in Siliguri have expressed concern over a possible escalation of tension in the Dooars following the bypoll victory of the GJMM-backed candidate in Kalchini.
According to veteran Naxalite leader, Mr Kanu Sanyal, the situation is explosive and ethnic tension might escalate any time. “The Left Front government has lost credibility as the result in the just concluded by-elections in the state indicates. The resurgence of the Opposition under the leadership of Miss Mamata Banerjee is likely to dislodge the Marxist-led Left government in the 2011 Assembly elections. I, for one, would be sad if such a development takes place. But the change seems inexorable given the anti-establishment buoyancy amongst the people,” Mr Sanyal said.
Dwelling on the Kalchini development, the Naxalite legend said that the possibility of fresh flare-up in ethnic tension in the restless Dooars could not be ruled out in the wake of the GJMM victory in the bypoll.
Speaking of the situation in the Dooars, the CPI-ML (Liberation) Darjeeling district president, Mr Abhijit Majumdar said the Left Front’s strategy of letting off the Adivasis against the Gorkhaland protagonists seem to have boomeranged against the perpetrators of the divisive stratagem. “Now the situation appears spinning out of control for the state government. Running after short-term gains on the part of the Marxist-led government has landed the sensitive region in a quagmire of grim uncertainty,” he said.
Attributing the GJMM victory to ethnic consolidation of the Nepalese and other tribes like the Mech, Rava and Bodo, Mr Majumdar said that the Adivasi votes got split principally between the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad and the RSP.

Darjeeling, Nov. 8(The Telegraph): At a time many overzealous Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters are showing a tendency to go overboard agitating for Gorkhaland, a senior leader has called for tolerance and urged supporters to take a holistic view of the party’s protest programmes.

While addressing a seminar on Gorkhaland here today, Morcha media and publicity secretary Harka Bahadur Chhetri denounced extremism in implementing agitation programmes and urged the people to stop bracketing their identity with the daura sural — the traditional attire of the Gorkhas.

“Wearing traditional dress is just a strategy to show that we are different from the rest of Bengal. People must understand this significance and not think that wearing the traditional dress is tantamount to identity. The issue of identity is complex. If we understand the significance of the strategy, wearing the dress will be more enjoyable. After all, daura sural is merely another dress,” he said.

Even though his message was not directed at anyone in particular, many believe that it was an oblique reference to some party workers who tend to walk the path of extremism while implementing the party’s agitation.

Darjeeling, Nov. 8(TheTelegraph): Liquor has disappeared from shop shelves and panchayat offices have shut down in the “state of Gorkhaland”. Not only that, some owners of offshops have sat down to chalk out new business plans, not sure how long the ban on IMFL and country liquor will continue.

In the new phase of the agitation launched by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha yesterday, shop keepers and business establishments have started repainting their signboards, wiping off “West Bengal” and replacing it with “Gorkhaland”.

The wipe-out-Bengal (from signboards) movement had started early last year. With most of the signboards which had “Gorkhaland” written on paper stuck on them coming off, the party has once again asked the hill residents to sport new signboards. This time many were seen scribbling the word “state” before “Gorkhaland” with oil paint.

Customers queue up in front of an IMFL shop on Friday to stock up before the ban comes into force.

Darjeeling, Nov. 6(The Telegraph): The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha deciding to close down all licensed liquor shops from tomorrow, many restaurants and hotels are planning to fall back on traditional tipple to cater for the needs of tourists.

The Morcha move is supposed to “pressure the state exchequer” by stopping the flow of revenue that the party claims is being generated through the sale of liquor in the hills.

Morcha president Bimal Gurung had earlier said the state government had collected excise duty of around Rs 50 crore from the sale of liquor in the hills during the just-ended month long festival period.

Sources in the liquor business, however, said all taxes were directly collected at the source (manufacturing unit) and liquor shops do not have to shell out a single rupee to the government at the time of sale of any bottle.